Christoph Waltz

Actor

Born: 4 October 1956

Birthplace: Vienna, Austria

Best known as:

The Austrian actor who won Oscars for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz stole the show and won an Oscar when he played the villain in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 movie Inglourious Basterds. Playing an evil but charming chatterbox -- Nazi Colonel Hans Landa -- Waltz became an international star, but he's been a hard-working actor on stage and in Austrian television since the 1980s. From a family with long ties to the theater, Waltz studied acting in Vienna and in New York, and spent the early part of his career on stage in Vienna, Hamburg and Zurich. In the early 1990s he appeared in the British mini-series The Gravy Train, but most of his work has been in Austrian television. His turn as Colonel Landa brought him critical praise and international awards, including top honors at Cannes and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, and the Oscar as best supporting actor of 2009. His other American films include The Green Hornet (2011, starring Seth Rogen), Water for Elephants (2011, starring Reese Witherspoon) and Django Unchained (2012, directed by Tarantino). Waltz won his second Oscar for his supporting role in Django Unchained.